Machine for cracking nuts.



PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

0. J. WERNER.

MACHINE FOR CRACKING NUTS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27. 1905.

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PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

0. J. WERNER. MACHINE FOB. CRACKING NUTS.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 27. 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES J. WERNER, OF RIDGEFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF oNE- HALF TOEDWARD o. EUSTACE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR CRACKING NUTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed January 27, 1905. Serial No. 242,821.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OHARLEs J. WERNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ridgefield. Bergen county, New Jersey, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Machines for Cracking Nuts, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for cracking food-nuts in such amanner that the shell is quickly separated from the kernel withoutinjuring the latter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of my improved machinefor cracking nuts; Fig. 2, a front elevation thereof; Fig. 8,

a horizontal section on line 3 3, Fig. 2', with some of the partsomitted; Fig. 4, a vertical section on line L 4, Fig. 3; Fig. 5, avertical section on line 5 5, Fig. 1; Fig. 6, a detail of theslide-operating device, and Fig. 7 a perspective view of one of theblades.

The letter a represents a table supported upon legs a and provided witha circular rim (5*, which is set back from the edge of the table so asto form a horizontal circumferential flange a a cover 7), having acentral perforation b. This perforation registers with a vertical bore 0of an upright tubular head 0, centered upon table a and made,preferably, integral with the same. To the cover 6 is pivotedeccentrically This bottom is provided with a number of openings (iarranged in a circle, the radial distance between the pivot d and eachof the openings (Z being equal tothe distance between the pivot d andopening 7). Thus when the hopper is intermittently rotated in mannerhereinafter described the openings 03 will consecutively become alinedwith the opening 6 and permit a nut A to drop from the hopper into thebore 0 of head 0. In order to close the outer openings the cover I) hasan extension or shelf Z2 Fig. 5.

The head 0 is provided with a number of radial slits for accommodatingthe inner ends of radially-movable knives or crushing-blades e, theouter ends of which are guided in corresponding slits of rim o The innerupright edge of each blade 6 is concaved, Fig. 7, to conformsubstantially to the contour of the nut to be cracked, and is sharpened,as at c, to form a combined crushing and cutting edge. When the knivesare moved inward,

Upon the rim a is supported they will enter the bore of head 0 to attackthe nut, while when they are retracted they will clear the bore torelease the nut. The means for actuating the knives 6 simultaneously areas follows: To table a are fulcrumed at f aseries of elbow-levers f. Theinner arm of each lever operatively engages a notch e of blade 6, whileits outer arm passes through a slot o of rim 64 A pin f engaging a slot9 of an oscillating ring g, connects each of such levers to the ring.The ring 9 is supported'upon the flange a and is actuated in thefollowing mannor: In bearings a of table a is journaled thedriving-shaft la, intergeared by wheels 7b 11 with upright shaft 2',carrying eccentric 6 Fig. 6. The strap j of this eccentric is connectedby a coupling with a link 1' engaging one of the pins f In this way therotating movement of shaft it is converted into the desired oscillatingmovement of the ring. The ring in turn by vibrating the levers f uponfulcrums f will impart the desired reciprocating movement to knives a.The shaft 'ialso serves to impart the intermittent rotatory movement tohopper d in the following manner: A crank-arm 2' of shaft 6 is pivotedat is to one end of a link 70, the other end of which is pivoted at k toa slide Z. This slide is supported upon cover I) and is guided by a pin5 of the cover that engages a first slot Z of the slide and also by theshaft '5, which engages a second slot Z of the slide. To the slide Z ispivoted at m a spring-influenced pawlm, adapted to consecutively engageratchet-teeth (2*, formed on the edge of hopper-bottom d, Fig. 1. Whenthe slide is moved to the left, the pawl on will cause the hopper OZ tobe turned for the distance of one tooth, while when the slide is movedto the right the pawl will be brought into engagement with thesucceeding tooth. The number of teeth 6Z4 is equal to the number ofperforations d and the parts are so adjusted that each stroke of theslide Z advances one of the perforations d into alinement withperforation b,

To support the nuts dropped into head 0 and to eject them after beingcracked, there is mounted upon a counter-shaft a an upright mutilateddisk 0, Fig. 5. Shaft n receives continuous rotatory movement from shaft/1. by gear-wheels b n. The disk 0 extends across the lower dischargeend of opening 0 and is provided with a bulged edge 0 and with arecessed or cut-away edge 0 Of these the edge 0 when uppermost supportsthe nut, while the edge 0 when uppermost releases the nut and permits itto drop into a suitable receptacle (not shown) placed beneath head 0. Toprevent nuts from sticking in the head, I

- provide the disk 0 with a finger or stripper 0 which is adapted totraverse the bore 0 near the top thereof and to push the nut downward.To accommodate the disk 0 and its turned to bring its recess 0 to thetop, and thus permit the cracked nut to drop out of the machine, any nutwhich may have become stuck being ejected by stripper 0 What I claimis 1. A machine for cracking nuts, provided with a table having atubular slotted head and a slotted rim, radially-movable blades guidedin said head and rim, an oscillating ring, and elbow-levers having innerarms that engage the blades and outer arms that project through the rimand are operatively connected to the oscillating ring, substantially asspecified.

2. In a machine for cracking nuts, an upright tubular head combined witha series of blades adapted to enter the head, and with an uprightrecessed disk having a stripper and projecting across the lower end ofthe head, substantially as specified.

Signed by me at New York city, (Manhattan,) New York, this 25th day ofJanuary,

CHARLES J. WERNER. Witnesses:

EDWARD C. EUsTAoE, FRANK v. BRIESEN.

